The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on the 10th that Yeo Han-koo, head of the Office of the Minister for Trade, will meet around noon on the 11th with Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rick Switzer of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Switzer was said to be visiting Korea that day for the meeting. The venue and time of the meeting were not disclosed.
The agenda for the meeting covers overall bilateral trade issues, including "non-tariff barriers." Earlier, Minister Cho Hyun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said during a National Assembly interpellation on the 9th that Jamieson Greer, the USTR representative, said the United States would raise tariffs on Korea to reduce its trade deficit if there is no progress in negotiations with Korea over non-tariff barriers.
Non-tariff barriers refer to measures that can restrict imports through means other than tariffs. These include technical regulations, certification procedures and import controls. Korea and the United States agreed through the joint fact sheet (JFS) after last year's summit that Korea would work to remove non-tariff barriers that block U.S. corporations from entering the market.
Tariff issues are also highly likely to be addressed together. The Korean government is concentrating on preparing domestic conditions until publication in the U.S. Federal Register. In particular, the National Assembly formed a special committee to handle the Special Act on Investment in the United States and set a policy to complete legislation by the end of February. Some observers say forming the special committee on investment in the United States could demonstrate the Korean government's willingness to implement measures to the U.S. side and be used as a card to delay the effective date of the Federal Register notice.
Once a measure is published in the Federal Register, it is highly likely to proceed to effectuation under administrative procedures. After that, negotiations must be held over any grace period and detailed conditions, inevitably putting Korea on the defensive. Therefore, the Korean government considers it urgent to "block publication in the Federal Register in advance or at least delay it."